Hopkins housing project review

PLANS to open up large expanses of land along Hopkins Point Road for housing have drawn 23 submissions.

Warrnambool City councillors will vote tonight on whether an independent panel is needed to review the proposal.

Council officers recommend that the council ask the state planning minister Matthew Guy to appoint a panel to consider the submissions, which relate to 29 hectares on the south side of the road and 89 hectares on the north side.

Some of the submissions include objections from Hopkins Point Road residents who oppose the planned housing development on the grounds that a previous council gave assurance that no allotments in the area would be less than 10,000 square metres, while others question the effect it will have on the area, whether it will affect their coastal and river views, and whether it will be the best use of the land.

Other submissions from residents and organisations support the development, while some of the submissions seek more information.

Tonight’s council meeting will also involve councillors being asked to vote on how the council will cover a $4.8 million superannuation shortfall, with council officers recommending that cash reserves be used to cover $2.1 million and budget allocations and new borrowings be used to cover the remainder.

Also on the agenda for tonight is a review of the councillor and mayoral monetary allowances, the council’s continued underwriting of the Wunta Fiesta, and opportunities in 2013 for visits to and from Warrnambool’s Chinese sister city Changchun.